Belbin Team Roles
Productive Teams Workshop
Productive Teams Workshop Objectives
Understand Belbin Team Role Theory and methods in order to be able to effectively
apply this research based approach to obtain enhanced business results
Understand your preferred, manageable and least preferred team roles
Gain an appreciation of your self-perception and the perceptions of others of your team
role profile
Learn to use the Belbin methods in a team setting using a powerful team mapping
exercise that highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a team and provides
methods to improve business results
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Workshop Agenda
Agenda Review
Introduction to Belbin Team Roles
Belbin Review: Productive Teams & Team Roles
Individual Report Interpretation
Team Mapping
Questions, Wrap Up and Bs & Cs
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Belbin Team Roles
Dr. Meredith Belbin from Cambridge University
devoted over 10 years of research into team
effectiveness:
The skill or individual excellence of the team members was not a
predictor of a team’s results.
The way that the individual members behaved contributed to or
detracted from the team’s effectiveness.
He identified nine predictable behavior patterns or “team roles.”
He demonstrated that with a careful balance of technical skills and the
optimal behavior patterns, we can select and develop teams with a
predictably higher degree of success.
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Belbin Team Roles
Henley Management College
(now known as The Henley Business School at the University of Reading –
an English triple accredited business school and 3rd largest provider of MBAs
in the world)
Almost 10 Years – Intense Observational Research
9 Distinct “Clusters of Behavior” or “Areas of Contribution” emerged
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Predicting Team Performance
A typical
example of
Belbin’s ability
to predict the
order of finish
of teams in the
Henley
Management
Simulations.
Predicted
Order of
Finish
Actual
Order of
Finish
1
1
2
3
3
2
4
4
5
5
The red X's on the graph represent the different
teams participating in the simulation.
Actual
1
X
X
2
3
X
X
4
5
X
5
4
3
2
Predicted
1
Red X’s on the diagonal line represent where
Belbin's predictions and the team's performance
matched exactly.
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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What is a Team Role?
A tendency to behave, contribute, and
interrelate with others in a particular way -when working in a team
Belbin’s research found that when all 9 “areas
of contribution” – or team roles were covered
(and balanced), that team had a higher
predictability for success and highperformance.
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
(versus a “Functional Role,” which refers to the job
demands that a person has to meet by supplying
the requisite technical skills and operational
knowledge)
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Team Roles
Nine Roles Identified
Natural or
Preferred
roles
The team roles fall into three
categories for each person:
Manageable
roles they
can assume
Least
Preferred
roles
As individuals differ greatly in personality & behavior,
so too will their team role compositions vary.
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Team Role Categories
Thinking
Roles
Action-oriented
Roles
People-oriented
Roles
Plant
Shaper
Co-ordinator
Monitor Evaluator
Implementer
Teamworker
Specialist
Completer Finisher
Resource Investigator
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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The Nine Team Roles
People
Action
Thinking
Team Role Contribution
Allowable Weakness
Plant
PL
Creative, imaginative, free-thinking.
Generates ideas & solves hard problems.
Ignores incidentals. Too preoccupied to fully communicate.
Monitor Evaluator
ME
Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees
all options and judges accurately.
Lacks drive and ability to inspire
others. Can be overly critical.
Specialist
SP
Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated.
Provides rare knowledge and skills.
Contributes only on a narrow
front. Dwells on technicalities.
Shaper
SH
Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure.
Has drive to overcome obstacles.
Prone to provocation.
Offends people's feelings.
Implementer
IMP
Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas
into actions and organizes tasks.
Somewhat inflexible. Slow
to respond to new possibilities.
Completer Finisher
CF
Painstaking, conscientious, anxious.
Finds errors. Polishes and perfects.
Inclined to worry unduly.
Reluctant to delegate.
Coordinator
CO
Mature, confident, identifies talent.
Clarifies goals. Delegates effectively.
Can be seen as manipulative.
Offloads own share of the work.
Team Worker
TW
Co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic.
Listens and averts friction.
Indecisive in crunch situations
Avoids confrontation.
Outgoing, enthusiastic, communicative.
Explores opportunities, develops contacts
Over-optimistic. Loses interest
once initial enthusiasm expires.
Resource Investigator RI
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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PLANT (PL)
Individual
Characteristics
Contribution to the
Team
 Creative
 Problem solving
 Imaginative
 Lateral thinking
 Unorthodox
 Innovation
 Generates new
ideas
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
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PLANT (PL)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
 Out of touch with reality
 Ignores incidentals
Non-Allowable
Strong ownership of
ideas when cooperation
would yield better results
Discounts other peoples
ideas
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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MONITOR EVALUATOR (ME)
Individual
Characteristics
 Discerning, objective
 Questioning
 Sees all options
Contribution to the
Team
 Defuses overenthusiasm
 Applies reason
 Identifies problems
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
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MONITOR EVALUATOR (ME)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
Non-Allowable
 Uninspiring
Cynical without logic
 Sceptical
Overly pessimistic
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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SPECIALIST (SP)
Individual
Characteristics
Contribution to the
Team
 Has rare skills or
knowledge
 Ignores factors
outside own
areas of competence
 Dedicated and
professional
 Single-minded
 Keeps up to date
 Accurate information
 Aware of new
developments
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
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SPECIALIST (SP)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
Non-Allowable
 Contributes on only a
limited front
Ignores factors outside
own areas of competence
 Dwells on specialized
personal interests
Doesn’t acknowledge
wider company
objectives
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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SHAPER (SH)
Individual
Characteristics
 Challenging
 Driving and dynamic
 Thrives on pressure
 Effective delegator
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
Contribution to the
Team
 Leads in difficult
situations
 Takes hard decisions
 Overcomes
obstacles
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SHAPER (SH)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
 Provocative
 Aggressive
 Too task-focused
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
Non-Allowable
Inability to recover
situation through humor
or apology
Always think they’re
right!
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IMPLEMENTER (IMP)
Individual
Characteristics
 Disciplined
 Efficient and
organised
 Reliable
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
Contribution to the
Team
 Practical solutions
from ideas
 Follows procedures
 Turns concept into
reality
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IMPLEMENTER (IMP)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
 Slow to see possibilities
 Somewhat inflexible
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
Non-Allowable
Obstructs change for no
good reason
A barrier to progress
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COMPLETER FINISHER
(CF)
Individual
Characteristics
 Conscientious
 Attention to detail
 Delivers results
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
Contribution to the
Team
 Perfects existing
systems
 Eradicates errors
 Crosses the t’s, dots
the i’s
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COMPLETER FINISHER (CF)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
 Anxious
 Reluctant to delegate
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
Non-Allowable
Unreasonably obsessive
behavior
Produces a Rolls-Royce
instead of a Mini
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COORDINATOR (CO)
Individual
Characteristics
 Strong sense of
objectives
Contribution to the
Team
 Leads through
empowerment
 Promotes decision-  Chairs meetings
making
 Promotes team
 Delegates readily
contribution
 Good chairman
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
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COORDINATOR (CO)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
Non-Allowable
 Manipulates within
reason
Takes credit for the
efforts of others
 Delegates personal
workload
Over-reliance on team
work
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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TEAMWORKER (TW)
Individual
Characteristics
 Cooperative and
supportive
 Promotes team
spirit
 Diplomatic
 Builds peer
relationships
 Averts friction
 Good listener
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
Contribution to the
Team
 Facilitates
communications
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TEAMWORKER (TW)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
 Indecisive
 Discourages conflict
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
Non-Allowable
Avoids pressure
situations
No focus on task
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RESOURCE
INVESTIGATOR (RI)
Individual
Characteristics
 Excellent
communicator
 Recognises
opportunities
 Extroverted
 Enthusiastic
© 2011 3Circle Partners LLC
Contribution to the
Team
 Develops contacts
 Explores
opportunities
 Negotiates
 Makes external
links
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RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR (RI)
WEAKNESSES
Allowable
 Can be over-optimistic
 Loses interest after initial
stages
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
Non-Allowable
Lets clients down by not
following through
Too externally focused
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Factors Determining Individual Behavior
in a Team
Personality
Role
learning
Mental
abilities
BEHAVIOR
Values and
motivations
External
influences
Experience
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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The Complexity of Team Interaction
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
?
?
?
1 2 3 4 5 6
??
??
?
1 2 3 4 5 6
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
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Team Roles Key Concepts –
Individual
Be aware of and manage your Allowable Weaknesses
This is the price to be paid for being good in your
preferred roles, e.g., a strong Shaper is going to hurt
some peoples feelings as they forge ahead
Ensure that Allowable Weakness does not become
“Disallowable”:
 Lose a Plant’s attention during a meeting because they
are dreaming up a creative solution = OK
 Plant forgets to come to meeting because they are
thinking about something else = NOT OK!
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Team Roles Key Concepts –
Individual
Focus on what you do best
Understand and excel in your
natural, preferred roles and
manage, rather than struggle,
to be good at your leastpreferred roles
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Team Roles Key Concepts – Team
Diversity is essential –
All 9 roles will be needed at some point
Belbin demonstrated that diversity is a key predictor of actual results,
it provides a framework for constructive conflict
Doesn’t mean a team needs 9 people (5-6 is typically the ideal)
Each role should be represented within the team
Some roles will be more or less important at a given time or for certain tasks
facing the team. Who plays each role may also evolve & change over time.
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Team Roles Key Concepts – Team
Beware of having too many of same role on team
Too many Plants – all brainstorming, no action
Too many Monitor Evaluators – analysis paralysis
Too many Shapers – CONFLICT & !!***#%!!/
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Team Roles Key Concepts – Team
BEWARE OF LABELLING PEOPLE!!
Everyone has 3 to 6 roles that are preferred or manageable they may need to switch among these different roles based on
the circumstances.
Plant Shaper
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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INDIVIDUAL BELBIN REPORTS
REPORTS
Reading Your Report
Key Questions to answer
Is my report coherent ?
Are my strongest roles consistent
across observers and myself ?
Are the weaknesses seen by the
observers ‘allowable’ ?
Are my top roles much more
evident to the observers than my
weaker roles ?
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Example Report
Analysis of your Team Role
Composition
What are
my Top
Roles ?
The overall rank order on the bottom line is the weighted addition of the SelfPerception and the total of the Observers’ input. The weighting is 57-67%
observers, depending on how many observers participated.
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Example Report
Team Role Overview
75 – 100
Clearly Projected
Top Role
RI
50 – 74
Strong Roles
TW
0 – 49
CO
PL
Delegate to Others?
SH ME SP
IMP CF
Generally, you want to play to your preferred roles whenever possible. Pick the one best
suited to the setting, set of tasks or other people you are with.
Sometimes a role outside your top 3 is the one best suited to the situation; think of this
as “flexing or stretching”, especially if the role has a lower score.
Try to let others fill your weakest roles.
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Example Report
Comparing Self and
Observer Perceptions
This report is based on
your Self-Perception plus
5 Observer Assessment
Coherence is the alignment of
self-perception and observers’
perceptions of what you do and
are good at.
It is important because it is
correlated with being self-aware
and effectively working with
others (playing to your true
strengths). Perfect alignment is
impossible, but check for large
gaps. Most people have some
“disconnects” between the two.
Differences of 40 or more
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Example Report
Your Team Role Preferences
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
In this example, the
person feels they excel
at three roles (RI, CO,
TW), and have little
aptitude for four roles
(SH, ME, IMP, CF).
The system also checks
for consistency in the
self-perception data
and “drops points”
when inconsistencies
are found. This person
had none, but scores of
5-15 are common.
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Observed Team Role Strengths and
Weaknesses
Are these
weaknesses
allowable ?
Some weaknesses are to be
expected, especially on the
strongest roles. They may
occur when you play the role
to its proper extent. They are
allowable as long as they do
not become too extreme.
Having no weakness on a role,
especially the stronger ones,
may indicate a “hidden
strength” (a role that could
safely be played more if you
choose to).
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
?
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Example Report
List of Observer Responses
Maximum score
= 2 x number
of observers
This is the complete list
of words your observers
could choose from to
describe your behavior.
All words line up to a
specific role as either a
strength or associated
weakness (italicized).
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Example Report
Team Role Feedback
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
The data on this page
is based on common
themes for people like
yourself.
There are over 250
reports like this in the
system. The report
in your package was
chosen based on
what your top roles
were and what your
weakest role was.
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TEAM ROLE MAPPING
SelfMastery
1
8
CF
9
IMP
7
CO
2
1
2
9
3
8
7
7
2
3
2
SH
Denis
e
SP
2
7
Ra j
3
Beth
1
2
9
1
8
1
1
7
9
9
7
TW
8
8
3
RI
3
9
7
9
8
2
3
1
3
8
1
Culture Analysis
Organization
Awareness &
Change
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
PL
ME
John
Team
Awareness &
Effectiveness
Tim
SelfManagement
Awareness of
Others
Susa
n
SelfAwareness
Team Maps
& Pairs
Analysis 2
Mike
Individual Team
Role Reports
Individual, Team, Organization
3
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Team Role Mapping Exercise
Use the OVERALL ranking
(see page 3 of your report)
PL
Thinking
ME
x
x
x
x
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
x
CF
x
IMP
x
CO
People
x
SP
SH
Action
x
TW
RI
x
x
x
x
• Surplus ?
x
x
x
• Void ?
• Tendencies?
x
x
For each Team Role:
x
x
• What adjustments
will be required ?
x
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®
®
These materials, procedures and systems herein contained or depicted are the sole and exclusive property of 3Circle Partners, L.L.C.
(“3Circle Partners”).
The contents hereof contain proprietary trade secrets that are the private and confidential property of 3Circle Partners. Unauthorized
use, disclosure, or reproduction of any kind of any material contained in this presentation is expressly prohibited. The contents hereof
are to be returned immediately upon termination of any relationship or agreement giving user authorization to possess or use such
information or materials.
The following terms are registered trademarks of 3Circle Partners: Team Accelerator; Improving Teams; Team Acceleration.
Any unauthorized or illegal use shall subject the user to all remedies, both legal and equitable, available to 3Circle Partners. This
material may be altered, amended or supplemented by 3Circle Partners from time to time. In the event of any inconsistency or
conflict between a provision in this material and any federal, provincial, state or local statute, regulation, order or other law, such law
will supersede the conflicting or inconsistent provision(s) of this material in all properties subject to that law.
Team Role Opposites
PLANT
Theorizes
CO-ORDINATOR
Generalises
COMPLETER
FINISHER
Perfects established
systems
SHAPER
Drives
RESOURCE
INVESTIGATOR
Recognises
opportunities
TEAMWORKER
Supports
SPECIALIST
Specifies
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
MONITOR
EVALUATOR
Judges impartially
IMPLEMENTER
Applies
49
Famous characters and their
possible Belbin team-roles
Robin
Williams
Warren
Buffet
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
Mother
Theresa
General
Patton
Spock
Martha
Stewart
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How can Belbin Team Roles help
you and your team?
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Unleashing the potential
of each employee
Identify natural
talents and attributes
Develop these talents
rather than dwell on
shortcomings
Wherever possible,
realign the job
demands with the
natural talents.
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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How Effective Managers Behave
No single combination
makes a good manager
Be a good example of
who you are
Understand why some
people may annoy you
and it’s OK
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Tips for managers
Be self aware
Take an interest in others
Adapt to the specific
demands of your situation
Make the most of the
available resources
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Reports currently available in:
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© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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Background
DeeDee Smartt Lynch
DeeDee is a Senior Consultant with 3 Circle Partners and
contributes her deep expertise in Belbin Teams Roles, a
scientifically proven system for designing, developing and
improving teams. She currently provides sole source
Belbin Accreditation for North America through 3Circle
Partners.
•
•
•
DeeDee Smartt Lynch
Washington, D.C. Metro Area
deedeesmarttlynch
@3circlepartners.com
240-478-0651
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
•
•
While living in the United Kingdom DeeDee launched a new
regional market presence in Manchester, for a successful Scottish
OD consulting firm.
Prior to being a consultant DeeDee was Director of Economic
Development in Andrews County, Texas, where she helped
establish a regional energy initiative, attracting interest and
investment from the nuclear, wind, geo-thermal and coal industries.
She organized cross state collaborations with local and state
entities (including Texas Governor Rick Perry’s Office of Economic
Development) to establish and promote a regional nuclear zone.
DeeDee owned a successful event management company in
Austin, Texas specializing in corporate events and reunions,
producing over 250 turn-key events. Prior to which DeeDee worked
at the Texas State Legislature for three state representatives.
DeeDee graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a
Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communications.
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The Crisis Team
Instructions
1. Make up a crisis
2. Compose a Crisis Team
• Not on the basis of Functional Roles
• On the basis of the “Pure” Team Roles
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
What Team Role IN, why?
What Team Role OUT, why?
What numbers?
What tasks?
Optional: names of well-known people that match the
descriptions
3. Full consensus, everyone has a veto
4. Prepare a presentation
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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The Crisis Team
Report Out
&
De-brief
© 2013 3Circle Partners LLC
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